Lifeboats Stood Down In North Sea Crew Search

Lifeboats involved in the search for the crew of a sunken cargo ship have begun returning to their home ports. A major search effort was mounted after the upturned hull of the Cypriot-registered Cemfjord was spotted in the waters of the Pentland Firth, north of Scotland, on Saturday. There has been no sign of the eight crew members, made up of seven Poles and one Filipino. The 83-metre bulk cement carrier, which had been bound for Runcorn, Cheshire, on the west coast of the UK, sank below the water earlier this afternoon. The RNLI said its lifeboats have been stood down and are returning to their ports. It is understood that air and coastal searches are continuing. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said the search had involved two helicopters and four lifeboats, assisted by coastguard rescue teams. Scotland's Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead said: Our thoughts are with the families of the missing crew at this difficult time."I would like to pay tribute to the work of the coastguard rescue teams from Kirkwall, St Margaret's Hope, Duncansby, Scrabster and Wick involved in the search and rescue operation." Marine Scotland and the Scottish Government stand ready to assist if required.'' The last confirmed sighting of the ship was at about 1pm on Friday. The crew on the NorthLink ferry Hrossey alerted the coastguard after spotting its upturned hull around 10 miles east of the Pentland Skerries, about 15 miles from Wick at around 2.30pm on Saturday.